I think this goes to prove the old saying that a train layout is never really finished, even if it’s just a loop of track on a paddle! Even though this board was only meant to test cheapie DC controllers with the Rokuhan Shorty Z scale chassis, after finishing it (I thought!), the more I […]
I wanted to put together a little (and I do mean little!) Z scale Rokuhan Shorty locomotive test track with some odds and ends I had kicking around the house. Some track, clear decal sheets, scale palm trees and a craft store paddle, that’ll do! Using the mighty tight Rokuhan 45mm curved track, we’ve got […]
Here’s a great project for getting away from the TV for a few nights, build a Z scale model train diorama! All the techniques and materials used here will of course work for any diorama. At the center of this build is our use of OrthoTape plaster cloth. This is a great alternative to some […]
On one of my late night shopping trips on AliExpress (or it might have been eBay, I do these shopping “trips” way too much!) I picked up an $8.00 USB powered vacuum. I thought it might be a useful little gadget when building my small scenes and layouts. I’ve had it in its box for […]
I recently went shopping for new utility knife to cut foam with and ended up with a Proxxon Hot Wire Cutter… and the utility knife too! I was watching a video here on YouTube on a channel called Black Magic Craft (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Rlv-ug-mtnXuMwlpcqFgg) where the owner, Jeremy, writes “I build terrain and models for Tabletop RPG’s […]
As a rule, I tend not to write articles on topics I’m unfamiliar with but today I’m breaking this trend as I talk about getting our model train work captured on video and shared online. Not only am I unfamiliar with video work, but smartphones too. So this is sort of a double “I’m not […]
Often we’ll see a thread on a model train forum that asks the question, can model railroading be considered art? This question never fails to deliver a wide range of opinions that will go in circles and often end up back at the original question… can a model railroad actually be considered to be art? […]
I recently read about BlueRail Trains and their new control system for trains, but not the sort of control system I’m used to seeing. Not DCC, but one that can be run right alongside DCC and doesn’t need a lot of hardware in the middle. A system that looks incredibly elegant to me that requires […]
During a recent YouTube poking around session, I came across a model railroad video that just made me smile. Not that I wasn’t impressed with the On30 scenery (I was), and not that I didn’t appreciate the quality of the video production (I did), but the video just made me happy enough to watch it […]
I wasn’t going to start listening to Christmas music early this year… until I did. Ah well, can you really ever have too much Christmas, too early? Yes, I know it’s sappy, over-sentimental, cutesy, cornball, mushy, saccharine, etc., etc. Hey, I play with trains all day, so I’d be right at home in this little […]
I just wanted to wish all our Raildig readers and customers a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy these wonderful days and nights of the season with family and friends and have an eggnog , apple cider, mulled wine… you get the idea. Below is a nice 3 hour Yule Log with some crackling Christmas music to […]
I tend to build small dioramas and layouts, and I find scene edges (as well as cuts through the scenery) are always a little tricky. Usually we don’t have tons of free space to always make nice gentle hills or rock cuts so we need to get a little creative. For this article I wanted […]
I had a little free time last weekend and a couple of Z scale Rokuhan Shorty locomotive shells kicking around, what else was I going to do but try my hand at stripping and repainting them? This is both a sad (well, not too sad really) and happy tale about my first attempt at this […]
In our last video project we used several of the purple, LilyPad style 3V battery holders with a built in on/off switch. I like these so much for small projects I thought I’d make a video talking about them a bit more. These really are idea for spots when you don’t want to get involved […]
This is one of those projects I’ve wanted to build for a while now. A tiny little battery powered layout
Happy Halloween 2019 everyone! Just a short follow-up piece on the Bad Bayou shadowbox (or is it a diorama?) we’ve featured over the past 2 years here on Raildig. No real changes to the piece this year but I have shot a short video with the LG G6 and a motorized dolly. I’m probably one […]
